Germany most influential

Germany is viewed as the country with the “most positive influence” in the world, according to the BBC’s annual Country Ratings Poll. Interviewing 26,000 people from 25 countries by phone or face-to-face between December 2012 and April 2013, subjects were asked by GlobeScan/PIPA (Program on International Policy Attitudes) to rate 16 countries and the European Union on whether they exercised a mainly positive or mainly negative influence.

In the poll, Germany won hands down: 59% of respondents viewed Germany positively, with Canada and the United Kingdom tied for second place with 55%, followed by Japan at 51% and France and the European Union tying with 49%.

Spain, despite receiving a conditional German-funded bailout, gave Germany a 68% positive influence rating. France, home to numerous protests against German led austerity, was even more generous, with 81% rating Germany positively. The Greeks are clearly less pleased, handing Germany a 52% negative rating.

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THE VIENNA REVIEW is a publication of Vienna Review Publishing GmbH, Vienna, Austria, a journal of news, culture, lifestyle and opinion covering the life and times of Vienna, Austria and the wider Central Europen region. It is published in English.